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Pahrump Valley Gazette, Thursday, May 29,
1997 27
Mule Deer Tag Quota Cut
by Ed Tomchin
The state Board of Wildlife Commissioners met May 10,
and adopted a compromise between recommendations sub-
mitred by Nevada Division of Wildlife and eight County
Wildlife Advisory Boards, cutting 644 additionalmuledeer
hunting tags from the earlier Statewide recommended total.
) In late April, NDOW proposed reducing the quota by
5,876 tl is year, with the majority of the reduction, 3,577
tags, coming from management area 10 in the Ruby Moun-
tains of Elko County.
It was reported that above-normal losses of fawns this
past winter, along with a higher than expected buck harvest
in 1996. lead to the decision to recommend a reduction in the
quota for the Ruby Mountain area.
A combined total of 1,288 tags was recommended to be
cut by advisory board members in Humboldt, White Pine,
Pershing, Eureka, Lander, Nye, Churchill and Lincoln coun-
ties. Howe vex, the commission voted to adopt only one-half
of the proposed reduction in each managenmnt area as
requested by county boards.
The commission approved issuing atotal of 21,176 mule
ess tag quotas.
The NDOW's recommended quota of 98 bighorn
sheep tags for residents
levelofll
for no.-resid0000ts.
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Photo Fancy
by Ed Tomchin
Previous photographic articles aimed more or less toward
the enthusiastic amateur who has a substantial investment in
camera gear and spends a great deal of time behind the lens.
But how about those who just
want something a little bit better
than the standard old snapshots
when out camping, boating,
hunting, hiking, or any other
activity? These people usually
own cameras ranging from a
$200 point and shoot to a $8.95
disposable.
Is there any hope for them to
take better pictures, pictures
worthy of being enlarged,
framed, hung, given as gifts?
You bet there is.
THE CAMERA gives the
photographer a versatile tool
with which to capture his or her
personal vision. That vision,
however, and framing it in the
viewfinder are all in the person
behind the camera lens. Some
very beautiful and award win-
ning photographs have been
taken using nothing more than a
primitive pinhole box camera.
The picture always remains in
the eye of the photographer.
Most point-and-shoot cam- Award winning photo of hawk
eras have a fixed wide-angle lens,
which isperfect for most pic-
tures. Two primary advantages
of a wide-angle lens are its fast speed and its depth of field.
The speed allows photographs to be taken in virtually every
lighting situation, even dusky light. The extreme depth of
field gives the camera a broad range of focus, generally from
about 4 feet to infinity.
ANTICIPATE THE PHOTOGRAPH. If your subject is
moving, position yourself at an angle of 45 degrees or less to
the line of motion to eliminate blur from movement. This will
also give you a more interesting perspective of the subject. If
the subject is moving over rough terrain, such as a hunter or
skier, move ahead and above or below. Place yourself in a
prime position capture the subject in action from a different
perspective.
CREATIVE COMPOSITION. Take your picture from an
angle usually not seen. Avoid straight on shots. They're
boring. Climb a tree or rock. Lay low on the ground. Take
a unique perspective on your subject. If your subject is a
hunter, get behind them. Frame the picture from behind and
slightly to the side, looking down the length of the rifle at the
target. Or put yourself in front 30 degrees to the trigger side
of the shooter. Don't stand in the line of fire to get a picture,
though. You both might shoot at the same time.
PRACTICE COMPOSING PICTURES by cutting a 4
inch by 6 inch rectangle out of the center of a piece of stiff
cardboard 8 inches by 10 inches or bigger. The cutout is the
same proportion as 35mm film. Hold the frame at the
distance where the view is approximately the same as what
you see through your camera's viewfinder.
Then use the frame to sample different views and perspec-
tives before taking your picture. Practice looking at different
views and perspectives until your eye begins to see scenes in
these proportions.
FRAMING YOUR PICTURE. This is a different kind of
framing. Here you are looking to
place something in the foreground
(nearest the camera) that will
frame or give depth to your sub-
ject.
For instance, you can frame
your picture so an overhanging
tree branch drapes across one cor-
ner of your viewfinder. In the
desert, a nearby stand of cactus or
large outcropping of rock can
serve the same purpose. What this
does is give depth to your photo-
graph and makes your
subject more interesting.
You can also shoot from a low
angle to use small cactus or flow-
ers to frame your picture. Any
framing such as this will make
yourphotos more appealing. Get
creative. Try to come up with
different natural objec! to use as
a frame around your subject.
With most point and shoot
cameras you won't have selec-
tive depth of field to eliminate
distracting backgrounds, but you
do have control over where you
photo by Ed Tomchin are when you take the picture.
Position yourself so as to elimi-
nate ugly backgrounds. Don't
have trees and telephone poles growing out of your subject.
Come in closer or take a different angle to eliminate busy and
distracting backgrounds.
Never place your subject smack in the middle of the frame.
This makes for a boring picture. Show your subject in context
with the surroundings. A good rule of thumb is to mentally
create a tic-tac-toe cross hatch grid in your viewfinder. Place
your subject at one of the four intersections. This simple trick
will make your pictures seem to come alive because it in-
volves the subject in the environment.
Horizons should never be straight across the center of the
picture. Try placing them both high and low. See the
different effect this placement causes. Pick the one that
pleases your taste, but stay away from deadcenter boring
photos.
LIGHT can be almost magical if experienced at the right
time of day. Avoid taking pictures between 10 am and 3 pm
whenever possible. The sun is simply too high in the sky
during these times and will make your pictures appear flat and
lifeless. Most photographers consider the two hours after
dawn and the two hours preceding sunset as the best times to
shoot. The sun is low in the sky at both times, creating
shadows which give depth and life to your pictures. Use these
times to take your best shots.
These simple techniques have been used by professionals
for years to get prize-winning photographs. If used creatively
they can help you(produce photos which stand head and
shoulders above the common snapshot. Try them and watch
your pictures lightup.
Fishing Report
by Geoff Schneider
Nevada Division of Wildlife
LAKE MEAD -- Anglers generally chose to stay
away from the lake over the Memorial Day weekend
because of the large volume of holiday visitors and
boaters.
Striped bass and largemouth bass fishing were good
prior to the weekend. Both the Boulder Basin and Overton
Arm were producing fish.
Some of the better success for stripers has been taking
place north of Boxcar Cove, Burro Point, the Hemenway
Wall, Pumphouse Cove and Pyramid Island. There have
also been reports of stripers being caught at the Meadows
in the Overton Arm.
Largemouth bass are still being pulled from brush in
coves. Boaters are also finding them along sheer cliff
walls.
LAKE MOHAVE -- Trout and striped bass fishing
have been slow at Willow Beach, despite last week's
trout plants. Some stripers have been caught around the
43 mile marker.
Lots of boaters, but few anglers visited Cottonwood
Cove over the weekend. Fishing was good for small
stripers in the narrows above Cottonwood prior to the
weekend.
WAYNE E. KIRCH WILDLIFE MANAGE-
MENT AREA -- Sporadic success continues to be
found for rainbow trout at Cold Springs and Haymeadow
reservoirs. Largemouth bass fishing has been good at
Haymeadow and Adams-McGill reservoirs with the
bigger fish coming from Haymeadow.
EAGLE VALLEY RESERVOIR -- Fishing re-
mains good for rainbow and brown trout. Stream fish-
ing from brown trout is fair below the reservoir.
ECHO CANYON RESERVOIR -- Good fishing
is being found at the Lincoln County State Park for
rainbow trout, largemouth bass and crappie. Small jigs
are the ticket for catching crappie while trout are being
taken with Powerbait and nightcrawlers.
SCHROEDER RESERVOIR -- Anglers report
finding good success for rainbow trout during the
Memorial Day weekend. Fair action for small rainbows
is taking place in the stream below the lake.
